40 
G R <3 
rn-ent; but finding that he obtained nothing but com¬ 
pliments, lie grew impatient, and requeued per.miflion 
to retire. Ciuidina.Teemed. to with to keep him at her 
court in quality of counfellor of date, and propofed 1 to 
him to fend for his'wife and family; but he excufed 
•iiimfel'f on account of the rigour of the climate and his 
own declining-health. Wearied out witii delay, he at 
length fet out without a pafl’port, and went to a fea-port 
town in order 1 to embark for Lubeck. The queen, in¬ 
formed of his departure* fent to defire another interview 
with him; which pad’ed fo amicably, that fhe prefented 
him with a confiderable fum in money, and a fervice of 
plate. A veflel was’alfo pYovided for his conveyance, 
on-board of which he embarked on Augtift 12. He met 
with a violent (form, which obliged him to go oh-fiiore 
not far from Dantzic. He fet out for Lubeck in an 
open waggon, expofed to the wind and rain, and arrived 
at Rodock greatly indifpofed. A phyfician who was 
called in foon declared him.to be in danger, upon which 
Grotius 1 requeued the>prefence of a clergyman. The 
Lutheran minider, John Quiftorp, who attended on.this 
occadori, has given a plain narrative of the laft hours of 
this great man, which bears all the marks of fidelity, 
and_ferves to confute the many idle and calumnious: re¬ 
ports railed on the fubjecl. He expired at midnight, 
on Aitgud 28, 1645, in the fixty-third year of his age. 
His remains were interred in Delft,’ in the family tomb. 
Grotius had three fons and three daughters; of whom 
the fons and one daughter, with their mother, furvived 
him. 
Few writers have diftinguilhed themfelves in more 
branches of literature than Grotius. Hi.s excellence in 
Latin poetry has already been mentioned. It confided 
pot only in great facility of verfification and h'appibefs 
of expreffion,' but in flro.ng and manly original feuti- 
ment. Of his finaller pieces the mod admired was the 
Prefopopceia of Odend, which, appearing anonymoudy,, 
was adigned to the fird Latin poets of the age, and met 
with feveral Frenph tranllators.. His poems are con¬ 
tained- in two colledtions : one, of the profane' or.mif-. 
celjaneous, publidied by his brother, which has gone 
through many editions ; the other, of the facred, fird 
minted in 1610, 4to. A verdon of the Greek Antho- 
ogia, which, with a corrected edition of the original, 
he had^ adtually begun) printing, has unaccountably 
been loft to the learned world, except a few fpecimcns. 
His concife and nervous ftyle was particularly fitted for 
fuch a work. As an hidorian, Grotius deferves great 
praife for his Annales & Hijloria de Rebus Belgicis, a work 
which he began early, but did not publilh during his 
life. It appeared in 1657, Amd. 8vo- with a dedication 
by his two fons to the dates' of Holland. This per¬ 
formance bears all the marks of a fuperior mind, in its 
invedigation of caules, and felection of topics for nar¬ 
ration, vvitli the intermixture of deep and judicious re- 
fledtions. Its impartiality is fuch, that the author’s 
country would fcarcely be difcovqred from his recital 
of the different events; and he has done ample, judice 
to the merits of prince Maurice, though he had fo 
much perfonal caufe of ■'complaint againd him. His 
great work, On the Rights of War and Peace, was the 
fird attempt to; fydematile the law of nations; and 
Mr. Mackintoffi, in his eloquent introduttory difcourfe 
on the dudy of this branch of law, aflerts, that though, 
now j-udly deemed imperfect, it “is perhaps the mod 
complete that the world has yet owed, at fo early a 
Rage in the progrefs of any fcience, to the genius and 
learning of one man.” The bed edition is that of Bar- 
beyrac, Amd. 1720, to which is fubjoined a fmall tradt 
by Grotius, De Equitate , Indulgentia, et Facilitate. 
As a divine, Grotius is popularly known by his book, 
On the Truth of the Chridian Religion, which; in its 
Latin form was. read all over. Europe, wfis tranflated 
into all its languages, and even into fome of thole of the 
eaft; and dill, in our fdiobls and univerlities, is ufed. 
G R 0 
both for its matter and' language, .in the indrucHon of 
youth on this, important topic. He gave an edition, 
with notes, of Luc.an’s Pharfalia, in 1614, and of Taci¬ 
tus, in 1640. Thele were : authors perfectly congenial 
to him; and he has- frequently hit off their fenfe in 
difficult paifages, in a manner of which a .mere verbal 
critic, however learned, would never have been capable. 
His Latin; letters compofe a confiderable part of his 
works. Some-are critical, but mod are upop matters 
of bufinefs, which he treats with extraordinary facility 
in a dead language. ■ . 
Of the furviving fons of Grotius, the elder, Corne¬ 
lius, and the younged, Diederic, followed the pro- 
feffion of arms. The fecond, Peter, was bred to the 
law, and became penfionary of Amderdam and deputy 
of the States-general. His brother, William, was a 
civilian and a man of learning, and was the correfpon- 
dent and confidant of Grotius during his whole life. 
GRO'TGN, a towqlhip of the American States, in 
Caledonia county, Vermont, fituafed wedward of and 
adjoining to Ryegate towndiip, on Connecticut river, 
nine miles north-wederly of Stephen’s fort on that river. 
GRO'TON, a towndiip of the American States, in 
Middlefex county, Malfachulfetts : thirty-five miles 
north-weft of Bodon, and contains, by the cenfus, 1840 
inhabitants, / 
GRO'TON, a towndiip of-tlie American States, in 
New-Londqn county, Connecticut, having Fidier’s Ifland 
Sound on the fputliward, and Thames river onthe well; 
which fegarates; it from New-London, to vvhich it for¬ 
merly belonged. It was incorporated in 1705, and con- 
fi.ftsof two paddies, containing 3946 inhabitants. In 
1770, there were 140 Indians here, forty-four of whom 
could.read, and leventeen were church members. On a 
height, on the, bank of the Thames, opp.ofite New-Lon¬ 
don city, dood Fort. Grifwold, memorable for being 
donned on the 6th of September 1781, by Benedict Ar¬ 
nold, a native of Connecticut, after he had deferted 
from the, Americans. Here feventy of the choiced 
men of the town were put to the ftvord, after they had 
furrendered themfelves prifoners. The compact part 
of the town was burnt at the fame time, and fuftained 
lodes to the amount of 23,2171. Fort Grifwold defends 
the harbour of Ne\v-London. 
GROT.'SKAW, a town of Servia, where, in 1739, 
the Imperialids were beaten by the Turks, which 
brought on the peace of. Belgrade : five leagues fouth 
of Belgrade. 
GROTTA'GLI, a town of Italy, in the kingdom of 
Naples, and province of Otranto : nine miles ead of 
Tarento. - 1 \ 
GROT'TA MENNAR'DA, a town of Italy, in the 
kingdom of Naples, and province of Principato Ultra: 
twelve miles ead-fouth-ead of Beiievento. 
GROT'TA St. LO'RIA, a town of Italy, in the 
kingdomof Naples, and province of Capitanata : twelve 
miles wed of Manfredonia. 
GROTT'GAU, or Grottk.au, a town of Silefia, 
and capital of a circle, in the principality of Neide, 
fituated on the river Neide. In 1438, this town was 
dedroyed by Wladidaus king of Poland, and, in 1445, 
by Williairl duke of Troppau. In 1449, 1490, and 
1591, it was dedroyed by fire, and in the year 1633 and 
1642 it was pillaged : fourteen miles north of Neide, 
Lat. 50.41. N. Ion. 35.19. E- Ferro. 
GROT'TO, f. [grotte , Fr. grotta, Ital.] A cavern or 
cave made for cooineis. - It is not ufed properly of a 
dark horrid cavern : 
Their carelefs chiefs to the cool grottos run. 
The bow’rs of kings, to fiiade them from the fun. Dryd. 
The mod curious and, remarkable grottos or caverns 
in this country, are thofe called The wonders of the Peak j 
for which fee the article Derbyshire, vol. v. p. 741. 
See alfo the article Cave, vol. iii. p. 923. 
iv GROTTO'LA, 
